Senior Spotlight: Thomas Hull

In light of the ongoing disruption that Coronavirus poses to our lives, which includes the cancellation of our annual MST Research Symposium, we are publishing a series of posts on seniors and their research that have been peer selected for excellence.

We asked each selected student to give us info on their abstract, the biggest takeaway from their internship, and something they were excited about for the upcoming year, as well as a few photos.  This post covers MST senior Thomas Hull

Mr. Hull completed his internship through Operation Wallacea, at their research site along the Yarapa River in the Peruvian Amazon. He helped conduct point counts for six species of Ara and Orthopsittaca macaws, which are important indicators of the health of the rainforest. Comparing the data collected from the unprotected Yarapa site to the data collected in 2018 from the nearby Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, he was able to assess the effectiveness of reserves like Pacaya-Samiria. Read all about his work here: Araand Orthopsittaca Macaw Populations in the Peruvian Amazon

When asked about what he learned in his internship, he had this to say: “One of the main reasons why I chose this internship was because I had always been interested in field biology as a possible career. This was kind of a test run in field biology for me, and while conducting authentic field research with some of the most kind and knowledgeable biologists I have ever met, I realized that I could see myself doing this for the rest of my life. Now, because of my experience in Peru, I am officially pursuing field biology as a career!”

As for next year, he reports that he’s “… most excited about studying Biological Sciences at Montana State University in Bozeman. I’ve lived in Camas my whole life, so I’m ready to branch out and see what Montana has to offer…which hopefully includes lots of birds!”

Permanent link to this article: https://chsmstmagnet.com/2020/05/senior-spotlight-thomas-hull/